The name of the tallest building in the country, PVN Tower, will be changed after the investor, Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN), pulled out of the project.

A source from PetrolVietnam Construction JSC (PVC) told local website VnExpress that it is now the major investor of the huge project, and that it will be built without funding from the State or PVN. The source said the name of the tower may be changed since the capital from PVC only accounts for 15-20% of the total.

"PVC will mobilise the capital from private investors. The company has already started negotiations with potential partners." the source said. "The project is scheduled to be operational in 2012, however the date may be pushed back because of the decline in the real estate market. We expect to fully recover investment within 15 to 20 years."

In 2010, PVC planned to build a 102-story skyscraper, the highest building in Vietnam, with an estimated cost of USD1.2 billion. The project was funded by PVC, PVN, Ocean Bank under Ocean Group and the real estate developer SSG Group. However, the building's planned height was cut down to 79 floors in March 2011. The decision allowed PVC to reduce the costs to USD600 million. In January 2012, PVN withdrew from the project, in accordance with the Prime Ministers instructions on withdrawing from non-core businesses.

To stay in line with the Prime Minister's directive, PVN can only invest funds for its office located in the building. He also ordered PVN to co-operate with municipal authorities in Hanoi to deal with the completed sections of the building in terms of planning and investment funds.